Frazer eighth-grader powers varsity basketball squad

FRAZER – The stats are impressive on their own.

Scoring more than 26 points a game, on top of snagging north of five rebounds and nearly four steals, Mya Fourstar has made a name for herself on the hardwood for the Frazer High girls’ basketball team.

And she’s not even in high school yet.

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Mya’s emergence has breathed life into a program that hasn’t seen much success in recent years, filling the gym in a town where, for years, girls’ basketball was a mere afterthought.

“It’s crazy,” Mya said. “Last year, nobody showed up for the girls’ games and they’d pack the gym for the boys. But this year, that’s changed. It feels amazing to have people come support us when before they didn’t realize how much talent we had.”

Frazer is a town of 362 between Wolf Point and Glasgow on the Fort Peck Reservation. Being the talk of the town, even small town, is a lot of pressure to put on someone who hasn’t graduated middle school yet.

Mya, along with teammate Julia Smoker, is one of 217 eighth-graders approved to play volleyball and basketball with high schoolers at both the varsity and junior varsity level because of dwindling enrollment numbers in rural Montana.

That number is significantly larger than in years past, spiking from around 140 several years ago and 194 last year, according to the Montana High School Association.

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Mya said she wasn’t too sure what to expect heading into the season in Frazer.

“I never even thought I was going to start,” said Mya, who has two 40-plus point games on the year. “We had 12 players to start the season, but I just worked hard in practice and when I found out I was starting, I was nervous, but it’s been fun. It’s a big opportunity as an eighth-grader.”

Frazer head coach and Mya’s aunt, Sasha Fourstar, wasn’t as surprised by her niece’s early success.

“I’ve coached Mya for the last couple of years in junior high,” said Sasha, who is in her second year as head coach, “so I’ve known she was going to come up and transition well. I’ve seen her potential, and I was pumped to know that it was going to happen this year. We haven’t had a talent like her in a while.”

Mya said she has learned to play in the exuberant atmosphere of a Frazer basketball game. Her confidence level has risen quickly.

“At first, I didn’t know what it’d be like playing in front of all those people, and I didn’t know how to handle it, but you can’t listen to the crowd, you just have to play your game,” she said.

Sasha said she and Mya have developed a tight bond over the years.

“Mya and I are very close,” Sasha said. “My mother raises her, so she’s always been around. I’ve taken her under my wing. With the pressure of this season, everybody is talking about her and she’s worried about what the other kids are going to say about her. I told her she just has to take it in stride and just go for it.”

Mya describes Sasha, who was also an athlete at Frazer, as an inspiration, and someone who has not only helped further her athletic career, but taught her many life lessons.

“She’s always been there,” Mya said. “She inspires me in many ways. I don’t live with my mom, but she’s like a mom to me. She pushes me to do my best, to be driven.”

The family connection doesn’t stop with Mya and Sasha, as Sasha’s daughter, Kyrsten Miller, and other niece, Hailee Fourstar, are also on the Frazer squad.

Sasha said the family concept also applies to the rest of the team as well, in second leading scorer Shaedel Adams, Kylee Lilley, Cassie Clampitt, Joni Jones and Smoker.

We are a family on the court. We have to work together.
That's my philosophy as a coach. 

Sasha Fourstar

“We’re a family on the court,” Sasha said. “We have to work together. That’s my philosophy as a coach.”

Mya said having Smoker along for the ride has been a great help as well.

“(Julia) is my best friend,” Mya said. “So, it’s been really fun.”

The Bearcubs, with only one senior, began the season with the expected ups and downs, but picked up a pair of league victories last weekend over Nashua and Lustre Christian, behind Mya’s 56 points in the two contests, to move into third place.

With a budding star in Mya and a young squad overall, Sasha said she “expects big things” from her team in the years to come.

But success on the court in secondary under Sasha.

“I stress school a lot,” Sasha said. “Mya and my daughter are both 4.0 students. At the end of the day, it’s just a game. Take care of your schoolwork, then use basketball as a way to let all the stress go away. Use it as a release.”

Mya, whose goal is to play at Gonzaga University, isn’t satisfied with individual success.

“It’s been like 15 years since the Frazer Lady Bearcubs have been to divisionals,” she said. “So that’s the goal this year. We just need to keep working hard and continue to get better.”